Is the state constitution an open record? Not according to the state

Carolyn Kaster, The Associated PressTerry Mutchler, executive director of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, says when she first heard the state denied a request for the state constitution she thought it was a joke.

Since the state open-records law expanded in 2008, there have been rancorous debates on what should be open to the public and what should remain off-limits.

Thorny issues including public employees’ home addresses, government security details and emails sent by elected officials all have been tackled. But along with the weighty decisions surrounding accessibility come the downright silly ones that make government officials look like they just want to be difficult or lack common sense.

Michael Baynard, a 37-year-old in state prison for sex offenses, asked the commonwealth’s Department of State for a copy of the Pennsylvania Constitution, first adopted in 1776.

With Benjamin Franklin spinning in his grave, his request was denied.
He appealed to the state Office of Open Records, which said — shockingly — the constitution is without question a public document.

The issue is so inane that the director of the Office of Open Records, Terry Mutchler, thought at first it was a joke.

“It encapsulates some of the derision that folks have for us in government because a copy of the constitution is clearly a public record,” she said.

The Department of State reasons the constitution didn’t qualify because it wasn’t a record the department made as a result of an action it took, spokesman Ron Ruman said.

The department also told the open-records office that it assigns act numbers to records, and the request for the constitution failed to cite an act number and year. Never mind, of course, that there is only one state constitution. Ruman said future Right to Know requests for the state constitution will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

The Department of State could have spent far less time and effort just photocopying the document or telling Baynard where he could find it online or in the Pennsylvania Manual likely in his prison library.

In the end, this gets to the heart of what open records is all about: No matter who you are or where you live in the state, you can request public documents — especially the really fundamental ones.